CANON EOS 3000D KIT (EF S18-55-II) DETAILED Camera REVIEW
From time to time, someone asks us: “What good DSLR camera to buy for beginners?”. and in almost all such situations, they really want to ask: “What is the best thing that I can buy with the least money?”. I don’t usually answer that question, but it looks like the Canon EOS 3000D might be a suitable solution. Canon sent us an EOS 3000D test model with an 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 lens kit. I also have a pair of Canon Mount Prime lenses (Sigma 30mm f/1.4 and Sigma 50mm f/1.4) that I use to evaluate the performance of the camera.
ASSEMBLY AND DESIGN
The first time I picked up the Canon EOS 3000D, I had the feeling of being back in 2008, when I picked up the canon EOS 450D for the first time. I found the camera to be lightweight, very compact and incredibly easy to usar…es easy to include. The outer body of the camera is made of polycarbonate and the rubber coating is only used for the front grip. The back of the camera is very smooth, with a minimum number of buttons. Unlike the most expensive cameras, there is no joystick to move the focus points and a second aperture adjustment dial. The buttons are not smeared with dirt, clicks are registered quite easily, and they do not move either, which is good. Not hesitating will give you a comfortable feeling if it falls off after prolonged (and intense) use.
What I liked about the Canon EOS 3000D is its incredibly light and compact form factor. A few years ago, I switched to compact cameras because they were very light and compact, and the Canon EOS 3000D gives me a very similar feeling. Whether you are a first-time user of a DSLR camera or buying it after using a high-quality camera, there is definitely a lot to learn about button placement. Canon also provided a memory card slot in the battery compartment, which is a good thing in a sense, as it eliminates the additional weak point. The battery compartment is sturdy enough on its own, so there is no reason to worry about the combined cover.
Overall, the design of the Canon EOS 3000D is lightweight and functional, and provides a good balance between quality and compromise. Yes, the rubber cover could be enlarged on the back, and Canon could include an additional control wheel for self-adjusting the aperture, but if that were the cover, this device would cost much more, not only in purchase, but also in maintenance. But what’s a bit disappointing is the lack of a touchscreen, which Canon is an expert at.
AUTOFOCUS EFFICIENCY
The Canon EOS 3000D features a simple but well-established 9-point autofocus. Of these, only the central one is cross-type, which allows for greater accuracy. The autofocus power also depends on the lens used. The lens included with THE 3000D doesn’t have the best autofocus mechanism, so I also used Sigma lenses.
The autofocus is accurate on all the lenses we have used the EOS 3000D with, at least during the day. However, in the after afternoon, the kit lens begins to “hunt”, and in low-light conditions the kit lens practically loses its autofocus functions. With a Sigma 30mm or 50mm Prime lens, the autofocus is improved, helped by a larger aperture that allows more light. If you are using a Canon lens equipped with an ultrasonic motor (USM), the autofocus will certainly be faster.
For an entry-level camera, the autofocus power of the EOS 3000D is sufficient. If you use a smartphone, you will appreciate the ability to control the focus more precisely, which will allow you to focus on even the smallest objects. What is needed is enough light, but this will work in conditions where your smartphone will disappoint you.
IMAGE QUALITY
The Canon EOS 3000D has an 18-megapixel APS-C sensor.the ISO value range for the Crop Sensor is limited to 100-6400, but at the highest level, the ISO performance is not as high as expected. Even the best smartphones show a low noise level at ISO 800, but with the EOS 3000D, you can expect to get convenient images at ISO 1600, and maybe ISO 2000, if you can apply active noise cancellation. Below you can see examples with a high ISO level. Please note that all sample images have been resized for the web and you can view them in full resolution in our Flickr gallery.
I would like to point out that all the images were taken in RAW format, where the images are completely flat. There is very little color or contrast here, as it should be on the cover with RAW files. When you edit them in Adobe Lightroom, the details and depth of the image become visible with the 3000D Sensor.The strongest point of the 3000D Sensor is that it reproduces pleasant skin tones, especially considering the darker skin tones we see in India. Another feature of the EOS 3000D that makes it attractive is its use of the color green.
For those just starting out, the EOS 3000D offers image quality far superior to anything that can be viewed from a smartphone or even with an advanced point-and-shoot camera. The limiting factor of image quality is the full lens, which limits the aperture and therefore the image quality. If you combine the EOS 3000D with the beautiful Prime lens, you will get much better results and it will be an excellent starting point for those who are engaged in photography or simply want to improve their imaging skills with more than just a smartphone.
What makes the Canon EOS 3000D make you want more is the burst mode. The camera cannot shoot more than 3 frames per second. I couldn’t film my dog with treats because the burst mode is not only not fast enough, but there are not many pictures in the buffer and the camera slows down even more.
